My journey to Ironman is now one step closer

So this Christmas was a special one for me.  Not only did I get my netbook from my mom, which I use constantly and am using to post this, but I got a Quintana Roo Tequilo TT bike from my in-laws.  It is the same bike that my father in-law used to complete his ironman.  It is an amazing bike, and I couldn't be happier with it.  I am so excited to begin training and racing using a TT bike.  Below is a picture of the bike, it is a stock photo, but the bike is in perfect condition.

Now I can begin training on this bike and get ready for my triathlon season and my Half Ironman in August.  They also gave me Dicks gift cards, so I used half of them for a bike trunk rack, so I can safely and easily carry my new "machine".  I will use the other half of the gift cards to get some more and updated livestrong gear.  I'm hoping they come out with some new shirts once the Tour De France get's closer next year.

Also, my month of fitness begins next month as well.  I am actually really excited to see what kind of results come from this.  I'm hoping to drop a good amount of body fat and build a great cardio base for the season.

I'll check in next week to let everyone know how it's going.  I hope you made your commitment and look forward to hearing about everyone else's experience.

My Month of Fitness Committment

Recently, a friend of mine wrote about this month of fitness challenge.  He was talking to a frequent Ironman participant who does this once a year, and for a whole month, he gives up some of his vices and trains like a crazy person (my definition).  Basically, you give up everything you enjoy for your health and fitness. 

We have decided to do our month of fitness in January, first month of the year, and right after the holidays where we all cheat a bit.  So my committment is as follows:

• I am going to give up soda pop and "junk food".  What I mean by junk food is chips, snacks, candy, etc.
• I am setting my fitness goal as 16 hours per week in the gym, including weights.  To be more specific, I'd like to get 2500 yards of swimming a week, 70 miles of cycling a week, and 20 miles of running a week.  I realize this may require 2 a days, which shouldn't be too bad with my bike trainer and a treadmill in the garage.

So, I challenge you to a month of fitness.  Pick a month and give up what you like, and enjoy a nice sufferfest of fitness.  Try to create a goal that would be difficult to reach to challenge yourself to the limit.

First full week of Triathlon Base Training

So last week was my first full week of triathlon base training.  This included obviously swimming, cycling, running, and a lot of weights.  All I can say is that I am ready to do this!  At first I was very skeptical of swimming, just because of how little training I have. 

Needless to say, swimming is much harder than I thought it was going to be.  Swimming is very cardio and strength centric.  At one time, you are breathing so hard, you just want to catch your breathe, and at the same time, you're just sore from pulling yourself through the water.  At this point, I'm so bad at it that I just want to continue to work on it and get better.  I thank Nick for forcing me to swim that first time, because now that's all I want to do, so I can get better.  Needless to say, the cycling, mostly spinning and the treadmill runs were basic, just keeping fitness up.  But swimming, is a whole new realm.  I can't wait to be better at it.

I also did a lot of spinning and weights.  Did some treadmill stuff, but not as much as I would have liked.  I am going to pick up the running some more this week.  Spinning and weights were a big focus last week.  Probably put close to 50 miles on the spin bike, and about 10 miles on the treadmill.  Weights was also a big focus last week.  I was definitely sore all week, and still sore this week.  It's always a good sore though, when you lift weights.  You know you are sore because you are getting stronger.  Most of my weight lifting has been for endurance (low weight, high reps), which will help with my new sport of choice.

So the journey begins.  I have a Half Ironman in 9 months, and many other short distance triathlons before then.  I feel that this winter base training is going to help me immensely.  I hope to have a healthy and exciting triathlon season and hope the same for you during your endeavors.

Invigorator Compression Sock Review

I was at first very skeptical of compression socks. They always looked "goofy" and just never saw the appeal. Well, that changed quickly. I got a pair of invigorators last Monday, and chose to wear them on my flight to Chicago last Tuesday. Needless to say, it was a quick turn around. All I can say is WOW, they worked great. Especially during the flight and after wards. Legs never felt so good after a plane ride. The next test was after my 5k on thanksgiving.

I ran the turkey trot on thanksgiving, as you can see from my previous post. My calves were extremely tight after the race and I began to stretch as normal. When we got home, I showered and immediately put my compression socks on. This was the true test, and they passed with flying colors. My calves had never felt better the night of a race as they did that night. It was almost as if I had not run my 5K on that morning.

If I were asked if compression socks work, not only would I say yes, but I would tell you to immediately get a pair of invigorators and try them for your self. I will continue to wear mine after my long runs and after most of my other runs, as well as after all my races. Because THEY WORK!

Frozen Turkey 5K

It was a cold and wet morning in Buffalo Grove on Thanksgiving. The temperature when we woke up was 38, and approached up to 40 at race start. It was also raining that morning, the type of rain that doesn't come down hard, but gets you plenty wet. The race started at 8, but we needed to arrive at 7:30 to pick up our packets. We got our packets and went back to the car to stay warm and dry. As we were sitting in the car, my mom said “wouldn't it be nice if the rain stopped for the race?” We all gave her the yeah right look, and I started to get my shoes on. As we were getting out of the car, we saw Barry and Paul so walked to the start with them. As soon as we got to the start line, the rain had stopped. Yes, it was a fantastic morning for a race. 40 degrees, overcast and no more rain. The roads were wet which wasn't much fun if you stepped in a puddle, but I managed to keep my feet dry anyway.



This was the first year of the race, so it was not the best race I have ever been to, but it was a lot of fun. The race started with a 1... 2.... 3.... GO! I started with the front group for the first half mile, until I looked at my watch and realized I was running a 5:15/mile. I started to back off into my pace, and lost a few places because of it. There was a nice little hill around mile 1.5, which I gained a few places back, and then hit the water stop. Just needed to wet my mouth really.

Coming around mile 2, I passed another guy who obviously started out way too fast, and started to decline quickly. As I passed him, he started to try to keep up with me, and was huffing and puffing even more. I kicked it up a notch, and lost him pretty quick.

Turning the corner for mile 3 was great. I looked at my watch to see I was at 19:00 even, and knew I could make my 19:30 goal. I saw the mile 3 sign and turned on all boosters. As I approached the finish line, I heard the slapping of feet behind, so I knew someone was trying to pass me. I thought to myself, no freakin' way!, and took off. We managed to tie, and I managed to finish at 19:36, which was a 6:19 average pace, also putting me in 19^th place out of 300. I was very happy with my time, and felt great for my last race of the year. I ran this race with my brother, who finished in 23:42, and was his second 5K ever. I am very proud of how far he has come in a very short time and have no doubt he could very well be faster than me one day.

One other note, I did have a mild injury after the race. My left knee was sore on Thursday and began to swell throughout the day. I awoke Friday morning, with a full on swollen knee, and took some ibuprofen. The swelling went down and it is feeling much better today as well.

Overall, I had a great season, finished in the top a lot, as well as the middle. PR'd all distances this year, and plan to do the same next year. Next year is also the year of the triathlon, and I am very excited about my Half-Ironman in August.

Happy Runs!

Quick Catchup

Hey Guys,

So it's been almost 6 months since my last blog and A LOT has gone on since then. Briefly, I've been raising a beautiful baby girl and running/cycling and racing. It's been busy.

To start, Steph and I have a beautiful baby girl who we both love more than each other. :-) It has been an amazing experience to be a "daddy" and to see her smile when I come home for the day.

I've also been running and cycling a lot. My biggest race was the Chicago Marathon, which I PR'd at 3:51:42. It was an incredible race and an unforgettable experience.

I have been doing a lot of training since and before the race, starting to slightly prepare for my triathlon season next year. My main race next year is my Half Ironman in August. I will be swimming more come the new year. I'm now trying to build up strength and endurance doing a lot of weights mixed into my training.

That's all for now. I'm going to try to stay more up to date with the blog as my training progresses, so stay tuned for more frequent updates.

Motor Tabs Evangelist!!

I am now an official evangelist for MotorTabs. For anyone that is not familiar with that, they are a company that produces tablets to drop into water for endurance athletes. (my speil) They taste great and work. I love them. I am also a fan of some other tablet drinks, but the others seem to have an aftertaste. Motor Tabs are great, and they taste like Kool-Aid.

You can view my profile on their website at http://motortabs.com/Endorsers/BrandEvangelists/tabid/84/Default.aspx

You will have to scroll down to the middle of the page to see me.

I'm also pacing my boss tomorrow at the Helvetia Half Marathon. He wants to break the 2 hour mark, so I'm gonna run with him and push him to his limit. :-) Just kidding, I'm there for moral support and to keep him motivated. It should be fun, and I'm really looking forward to helping someone reach their goal!

Look for a post race report this weekend.